The Pacific Ethanol plant at Burley, Idaho, could reopen in early 2010. Its revival comes as the ethanol industry is pushing for higher ethanol content in gasoline blends.
The ethanol industry has reacted with disappointment to the recent announcement that the federal government will wait until next summer before deciding whether to allow an increase in ethanol blends.
The Environment Protection Agency said Dec. 1 that it intends to make a final decision in ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington State Department of Agriculture and other natural resource-related agencies will remain independent but will work more closely together in an effort to save money.
Gov. Chris Gregoire signed an executive order Dec. 2 and announced an agreement among agenc ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
In 2009, signing up for ACRE turned out to be a no-brainer, said Mike Krueger.
The president of Wilsonville, Ore.-based MK Commodities Inc. is recommending grain farmers take a serious look at the USDA Farm Service Agency's Average Crop Revenue Election program, or ACRE, for 2010, he sai ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
A global biotech firm has announced plans to use its patented technology to develop potatoes more tolerant of certain herbicides and less susceptible to blackspot bruise.
Cibus Global launched the project in partnership with Naturally Enhanced United Seed, a Rexburg, Idaho-based potato se ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A mechanical apple harvester, field tested in eastern Washington this fall, may be ready for commercial sales by the fall of 2011.
It will be tested on California oranges and peaches next season.
Mechanical tree harvesters have been tested before in apples and f ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Major retailers are developing sustainability programs, and growers can view that as imposition or opportunity, says an internationally recognized sustainable agriculture leader.
"I like the term sustainability, but I know a lot of growers do not," said Clifford Ohmar ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- More people need to get married because newlyweds "suddenly become stupid" and spend money they don't have, a Pennsylvania economist says.
Something like that is needed to spur lackluster consumer spending and speed up economic recovery, says Edmond Seifried, economics ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- The era of large retailers enforcing food safety in supply chains is weakening because of the recession, says a noted food industry commentator.
The aligned supply chain model of large companies contracting for produce before it is grown and enforcing supply chain res ...
Saturday, December 12, 2009 11:04 AM
Californian to advise Vilsack
Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, has been named a senior adviser to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
In 13 years at the helm of CAWG and as a state Board of Food and Agriculture member, Ross has been an advocate ...
Sunday, December 06, 2009 12:04 AM
PCC Farmland Trust, a nonprofit that aims to preserve threatened farmland in the Northwest, has secured funding to keep 100-acre Orting Valley Farms in organic production in perpetuity.
The Orting Valley Farms project was the most complex and ambitious project to date for the trust, said Kelly ...
Sunday, December 06, 2009 12:04 AM
A warming climate could increase yields of some Eastern Washington crops, while decreasing others by the end of the century, but it likely will do little in the next two decades, according to a University of Washington climate change study.
The study and what to do about climate change will be ...
Sunday, December 06, 2009 12:04 AM
WILSONVILLE, Ore. -- From the vantage point of the average commuter, Sysco's 27-acre campus along Interstate 5 conveys the image of a national food distribution monolith.
That impression becomes more nuanced as you walk through the 400,000 square feet of warehouse space within the Wilsonv ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
The largest foreign buyer of U.S. red meat has cut back on beef as its appetite for pork has grown in the past year.
Mexico's consumption of U.S. beef fell 28 percent during the first three quarters of 2009, a decrease in volume of about 87,000 metric tons compared with 2008, according to ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 11:03 AM
SALEM -- Oregon farmers in the path of a proposed 200-mile power line planned between Boardman and Salem are speaking out against it.
Growers say they are concerned about farming restrictions Portland General Electric would impose in easements under the 500-kilovolt line. And they questio ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 12:03 PM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- A new Asian pest, potentially devastating to berries, tree fruit and grapes on the west side of Washington and Oregon, may not like the more extreme temperatures east of the Cascade mountains, Washington State University scientists say.
The Drosophila suzukii vinegar ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
Representatives of the state's agriculture industry will meet in Ellensburg, Wash., on Dec. 16 to develop a unified agenda representing their priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
Self-protection during the state's budget crunch will be a main theme.
John Stuhlmiller, dir ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
A dairy in northwestern Washington is under heightened scrutiny by state agriculture officials after three people were sickened by drinking raw milk they said the dairy produced.
Officials confirmed that all three had E. coli infections. One person was briefly hospitalized.
The first inci ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
U.S. sugar beet growers can count on moral support from cane growers in the fight to keep Roundup Ready varieties.
The sugar cane industry has biotech aspirations of its own and is rooting for beet growers to prevail in their legal battle with environmental groups.
"We're for our bro ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
The Idaho wine industry grabbed national attention in 2007 with its first designated American Viticulture Area, the Snake River Valley.
The Snake River Canyon Scenic Byway, the state's first scenic drive focused on agriculture, soon followed. A portion of the byway threads its way through ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
Grape lovers in the Treasure Valley no longer have to travel outside the area to attend viticulture classes.
An introductory course offered through Ontario, Ore.-based Treasure Valley Community College began this fall.
The course has involved some classroom work, but much of the inst ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
Pacific Northwest pear exports to Mexico are up 4.7 percent from this time last year despite a 20 percent tariff.
"It's kind of a surprise, but a good surprise," said Kevin Moffitt, president of The Pear Bureau Northwest in Milwaukie, Ore.
As of Nov. 15, 541,265 44-pound boxes of fre ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Washington apple sales to Central America have doubled in the last five years, returning to levels of a decade ago, largely due to the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, an industry official says.
And there's room for growth in that region becau ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
ROGUE RIVER, Ore. (AP) -- Unless an unexpected buyer shows up, the equipment, land and buildings at a Rogue River plywood plant will be up for auction Dec. 10.
The plant has housed a mill under various operators since the 1960s, but a court-appointed receiver said there's been no interest among ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
Farmers who want to supply food to the Sysco distribution firm can't just show up at a warehouse with a pickup truck full of produce.
Sysco wants to source food from farmers, but the company doesn't cut them slack for being small or local.
To prevent wilting and other quality deterio ...
Saturday, December 05, 2009 10:03 AM
Bids as of 9:30 a.m.; Subject to change
Bids for grains delivered to Portland, Ore., during December by rail or barge, in dollars per bushel, except oats, corn and barley, in dollars per cwt. Bids for soft white wheat are for delivery periods as specified. All other wheat and barley bids ...
Thursday, December 03, 2009 9:34 AM
Bids as of 9:30 a.m.; Subject to change
Bids for grains delivered to Portland, Ore., during December by rail or barge, in dollars per bushel, except oats, corn and barley, in dollars per cwt. Bids for soft white wheat are for delivery periods as specified. All other wheat and barley bids ...
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:33 AM
